The next morning.
Luke's estate.
In the living room, Lux and Jinx stared at each other.
After several seconds of staring, Lux was the first one unable to hold back. She spoke up. "So why are you still here?"
Jinx blinked her wide, innocent eyes, then said sincerely, "Actually, after I went back last night, I reflected on it for a long time. Sneaking in here in the middle of the night really was my fault. Even if you forgave me, I still couldn't forgive myself. I came here this time specifically to make up for it."
"I don't believe you."
Although the little blue-haired brat in front of her had said quite a lot, Lux still eyed her with suspicion.
Based on her experience and keen judgment, she was certain.
This girl was here to mooch food!
"I knew you wouldn't believe me, so I wasn't planning to ask for your opinion."
Jinx's gaze swiftly shifted away from Lux and toward Luke. "I'm very capable. Work like what I did yesterday can all be left to me. As long as you feed me, that's enough."
"Heh. I think that last sentence is your real motive."
Lux sneered and saw right through her.
Hearing this, Luke casually yawned and said, "Sorry, we don't hire child labor here."
"I'm not child labor!"
Jinx stood up and emphasized it, then added, "I can do lots of other things too."
That made Luke thoughtful.
It was true. Jinx was indeed an inventor-type genius, especially when it came to firearms.
Gunpowder, guns, and the like, she was extremely proficient with all of them.
Even now, Luke still had a Flame Chomper grenade confiscated from her. That grenade could even be timed to detonate, and its power was greater than an ordinary grenade's.
The blue-haired girl in front of him might look tiny, but the explosive weapons in her hands were more advanced than those of Demacia's Research Department.
After thinking about it, he said, "I'm quite interested in the grenade I took from you yesterday. Did you make it yourself?"
At the mention of this, Jinx immediately raised her head with pride. "Of course! I assembled every single component myself."
"Is that so?" Luke nodded slightly, then changed the topic. "In that case, I think our relationship can take a different form. Cooperation, for example. I can hire you as the team's scientific research consultant. As long as you're willing to provide blueprints, our partnership will remain in effect."
Jinx agreed without even thinking. "No problem!"
She naturally understood that a simple excuse like before would never make Luke let her stay so easily.
Now, the first step of her plan was complete!
Her idea was very simple. As long as she could successfully blend in with Luke's side, then over time, she could secretly learn his impressive skills. That would count as a success!
As for Luke's request, it was not difficult for her at all.
Flame Chompers? She could make one in minutes. The blueprint could be done casually. If Luke took it, then worst case, she would upgrade the version later. Either way, she would not lose out.
At this moment, Lux eyed Jinx suspiciously. "Is this girl really that impressive? A scientific research consultant?"
Jinx gave an annoyed little snort. "Sooner or later, I'll let you know how impressive I am."
Now was not the right time. Sooner or later, she would step on this little blondie!
And so, Jinx gained a seat at the dining table too.
When she sank into the deliciousness of breakfast, Jinx knew she had not chosen wrong. It was simply too good.
After breakfast, Luke went to the courtyard and began practicing Vitality Arts.
When Jinx saw this, her little schemes immediately started stirring. Pretending to be "taking a walk," she sneakily wandered behind a tree in the courtyard, poked her head out, and began secretly observing.
Silently, she memorized Luke's Vitality Arts movements one by one.
"Hey, what are you sneaking around here for?"
Until a voice suddenly rang out.
Jinx, who had been focused, snapped back to reality and saw Lux staring at her strangely.
Jinx felt a little guilty, but she stayed calm on the surface and said, "I came here for a walk."
The sharp-eyed Crownguard saw something was wrong at a glance.
She first looked at Luke's side, then at the little blue-haired brat in front of her. Suddenly, she smiled in realization and eyed Jinx with ill intent. "Oh, I get it. You're not just here to mooch food. You're trying to steal his techniques too!"
Jinx's heart skipped. She argued, "What do you mean steal his techniques? I just happened to walk here, that's all!"
She had never expected her secret learning plan to be exposed on the very first day.
Damn little blondie. Why was she always staring at her?
"Heh." Lux sneered. "I knew your motives weren't pure."
Seeing that Lux had already completely decided, Jinx's little brain could not help spinning quickly, trying to think of a way to cover it up.
However, she could not think of any excuse at all.
This little blondie looked silly, but her instincts were unusually sharp.
So she simply stopped pretending. She straightened her back and said with confidence she absolutely had not earned, "So what if I am stealing techniques? What are you going to do about it?"
Lux was so angry she laughed. "You're stealing techniques, and you still think you're in the right?"
With her other hand, she took out a frying pan. Clearly, she had come prepared!
That was right. The clever Crownguard had suspected the little blue-haired brat's motives from the very beginning!
Seeing her pull out a frying pan, Jinx froze for a moment and could not help taking a step back. She stared at Lux warily. "What are you doing?"
"Teaching you a lesson, of course, you little thief."
Lux smiled and started threatening her.
Jinx took another step back and threatened, "Don't push me. I don't want to fight!"
Lux was completely unafraid. "Fine. Go ahead and fight me."
Jinx immediately said, "If you've got the guts, throw that pan away! Let's have a fair duel!"
"I'll throw it away then. Perfect. I'll show you whether I was holding back on you yesterday."
Lux had clearly remembered how she had held back yesterday, only to nearly slip up against this girl.
That would absolutely not happen today. She tossed the frying pan aside and walked to the middle of the courtyard with Jinx.
The two of them were about to begin a duel. Luke, who had been practicing Vitality Arts, was also forced to give them the space.
After some preparation, the blond and the blue-haired girl looked at each other. Lux's expression was calm and composed, quite like an expert.
Jinx's expression gradually became serious, as if she intended to use everything she had.
She might not be able to beat that prince, but was she really unable to beat this little blondie too?
Although she knew Lux also had real skill, one had to remember that yesterday, Jinx had been tied up for a whole night, starved for a whole night, with her back aching and her hands hurting!
As a breeze passed by, neither of them even called for the start. They charged at each other at the same time in perfect tacit understanding.
Jinx's hand-to-hand combat was naturally not weak. Ever since what happened back then, she had started training her fighting skills.
Together with her abnormal talent, two grown men usually would not be her match.
However, when it came to hand-to-hand combat, the Crownguard was no pushover either.
Although magic was her strong suit, she was, after all, from Demacia's House Crownguard, a top-tier noble house. Her physical fitness and combat techniques had all been trained since she was young.
On top of that, later on, she had learned plenty of moves from Luke as well. At this moment, the Crownguard was also showing signs of developing in both directions.
So this duel ended with Jinx's rapid defeat.
Very soon, the Crownguard had Jinx locked down and asked, "Do you yield?"
Although Jinx was firmly restrained, her little face flushed red from the hold, she still stubbornly said, "No! I was careless just now. Again!"
"Hmph. Then again it is!"
Lux released her, granting her wish. Today, she was going to beat this little blue-haired brat into submission!
Facts proved that beating Jinx into submission was still somewhat difficult.
Even when Ivo's carriage came to pick them up and stopped outside the courtyard gate, Jinx, who had been thrashed for several rounds, was still shouting that she refused to yield.
Even after getting into the carriage, the two of them still glared at each other with quite a bit of hostility in their eyes.
No one else present paid any attention to it.
However, Jinx soon withdrew her gaze and lowered her head in thought.
She realized that not only could she not beat the prince, she could not even beat Lux.
However, although she had just been beaten several times, she discovered that she could observe moves through actual combat.
So at this moment, she still felt a little improvement.
As the carriage stopped at the entrance of Piltover's Red Lion Opera House, everyone arrived at their destination.
Outside the carriage was a bustling crowd, talking as they walked inside, making this famous opera house appear extraordinarily lively.
"Your Highness, everyone, please enter with me from this side."
Ivo came to the carriage and welcomed Luke and the others as they got off.
After they disembarked, he led the way inside through another entrance with no one around.
As they walked through the long corridor, he explained along the way, "In order to hold this concert, I spent more than a month making preparations. There will be three thousand seats, all fully occupied. If so many people were unable to hear Miss Sona's performance, I think it would be a regret."
As he spoke, he still praised Sona immensely.
Clearly, that piece she had played the other day had completely conquered this music lover.
Soon, everyone was brought to a high-end audience room on the second floor of the hall.
From the balcony jutting out here, they could see the site where the concert would soon be held. A vast stage was draped in red cloth, and below the stage were rows upon rows of seats, all filled with people.
It was indeed a full house. Three thousand people seated in one hall certainly looked like a large crowd.
Piltovans also had relatively developed artistic sensibilities. For this kind of concert, as long as the tickets were not too expensive, they would not be absent.
"Your Highness, everyone, you may enjoy the show here at your leisure. There are still some matters backstage that require my attention, so I will take my leave first."
After bringing them over, Ivo said goodbye.
This VIP room had an excellent position. They could easily see the stage below, and at the same time, it was very spacious and not crowded at all.
Aside from this, there were other VIP rooms as well. Those who could watch from such rooms were basically celebrities and nobles, but Luke's room was clearly the best.
Luke's eyesight was quite good. He even spotted two councilors.
The other party had not noticed him, and he could not be bothered to greet them. He found a seat and waited for the concert to begin.
Time slowly passed. With a click, the lights in the music hall came on.
"Ladies and gentlemen, this concert is about to begin. First, thank you all for your support. I am confident that I will bring everyone a perfect auditory feast."
The curtain opened, and Ivo stepped onto the stage, beginning an impassioned speech.
When his speech ended, the audience responded with applause like pouring rain.
Next, the first performance was about to begin. As the curtain closed, the ensemble also began preparing.
When the curtain opened again, all the lights had already gathered on the stage.
Ivo had indeed organized this concert with great care. What he wanted to bring everyone was not only Piltover's music.
There was also classical music from Ionia, opera from Shurima, stirring pieces from Noxus, and songs of fading from the Freljord. He had collected music from all kinds of regions.
The different forms and distinctive performances also kept the audience's experience at its peak.
Time passed through one performance after another, and everyone could not help looking forward to the finale.
Soon, it was time for the final performance.
As the curtain opened, a unique white light poured down from the ceiling, illuminating the lone figure on the vast stage. In the eyes of most of the people present, a trace of confusion could not help appearing.
Looking at the woman onstage, whose face was holy and dignified, many people found it strange.
Could this be another unusual performance?
Otherwise, the finale was actually only one person?
There were also many nobles at this concert. They had heard Sona perform once before, and at this moment, their eyes could not help brightening.
It seemed they had not expected the finale to be her.
Under the curious and puzzled gazes of most of the crowd, Sona's performance slowly began.
She needed less than ten seconds to completely dispel all the surprise in the hearts of everyone present. As her slender fingers played upon the Etwahl, beautiful music danced throughout the entire hall.
Everyone present was already completely immersed in it.
At this moment, the charm of music reached its peak.
At this moment, people understood what an auditory feast truly meant.
Their hearts seemed to be washed clean, and goosebumps rose over their bodies without them noticing.
No one had imagined that a single person's performance could be so perfect, so flawless.
And below the stage, in one of the seats, a pink-haired girl opened her eyes wide. Her starry eyes shone as they remained fixed on the figure onstage, as if only Sona existed in them.
Different from all the other audience members, her experience was filled to the brim in the truest sense.
At this moment, she felt as though she had entered a marvelous, colorful world. She could see musical notes flickering through the air like butterflies, and she could see long, glowing sheets of music.
At the same time, she could understand the melody this piece wanted to express.
It was as if Sona had taken a bit of inspiration from the heart of every person present, then perfectly blended it into one song.
The performance she played for everyone was, in truth, equivalent to playing for each person alone.
Everyone could find the chapter they wanted to hear in this piece.
And among them was her.
It was too dreamlike, too beautiful.
Sona's heart was as pure and flawless as her playing.
The girl had thought she would never find another person like herself, but she had never expected to meet one here.
And more than that, someone even more amazing than she was.
Precisely because she could understand Sona's performance, she knew with absolute clarity how powerful and special Sona was.
The girl stared unblinkingly at Sona on the stage, her heart beating faster and faster.
Her eyes gradually filled with admiration.
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